Researchers from Germany and the US present an updated tool for exploring small non-coding RNA features across species based on sequencing data. The miRMaster 2.0 analysis tool currently includes data on more than a trillion small RNA reads representing 125,000 human samples, the team says, and allows analyses across microRNA, circular RNA, and other non-coding RNA classes across eight species, including data from single-cell small RNA sequencing. For their proof-of-principle analyses, for example, the authors applied miRMaster to single-cell RNA sequencing data from 11 mouse organs, to case-control data for humans with or without dementia, and to single-cell small non-coding RNA sequences from human embryonic stem cells. "In addition to the new features, we performed a major update of the underlying databases to their current standards, improved the user experience, as well as the representation of results in tables and as interactive plots," they write.
A team from Germany and the UK describes the latest version of MutationTaster, a tool for predicting the consequences of DNA variants. The authors note that MutationTaster2021 includes updated data sources and has improved accuracy compared to an earlier version of the software, while incorporating extensive in silico testing and related clinical clues, when applicable. "With the latest release of MutationTaster, we hope to increase the overall success rate for [whole-exome sequencing]," they write, noting that "[w]e have also worked on the user-friendliness of MutationTaster and integrated MutationDistiller for the identification of disease mutations causing monogenic disorders."
Investigators at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and the University of Queensland share an interactive lipidomic workflow, analysis, and interpretation server and software tool set known as LipidSuite, which they call an "end-to-end differential lipidomics data analysis server." The tool is designed for tackling a wide range of processing and analytical steps using several data types," the team says, noting that it is possible to tailor the server to some extent to suit the questions, confounding variables, and data representation goals a user may have. "Overall, we anticipate this free, user-friendly webserver to facilitate differential lipidomics data analysis and re-analysis," the authors note, "and fully harness biological interpretation from lipidomics datasets."